Got Wood?

[HuntinDoug]

I do.... Got my order from LMI in today. All are 3in x 21in guitar fingerboards. Six pieces of Eastern Rock Maple, six pieces of Pau Ferro, and six of Macassar Ebony. I never realized how nice Pau Ferro was...really beautiful wood! Cant wait to start inlaying!

[horns666]

Oh that's nice wood..

I have pau ferro finger boards on my two 95 San Dimas..I forgot the name of that wood!!

My main SD is my Koa..it became my main because there's no paint to scratch..seriously!

the other is a SD III w/ Maple quilt over walnut..that one I never play..way too pretty!!

Make me a geetar that I'll never play!!

Bill

[GodOfRhythm]

Macassar Ebony is my favorite fretboard wood, it is so lush and beautiful!

[Chasbo]

hmmmm.....if you have a fret board, then you need a cool neck to put it on. Then you need a body. Then finishing, electronics, etc..

Man! That's potentially 18 kickass guitars there! Right on!

chuck

[horns666]

GOR and Doug ..I have Ebony on my USA RR, I don't play that one much either..I guess that would be reserved for my "stage" axe..because it looks cool..

What do you guys think of the pau ferro..I must say it really held up on my SD 1 Koa..I play it everyday for the last 11 years and it's still so damn beautiful..

Now, I'm a little peeved about my USA floyd rose classic Strat..I really love the guitar but the finish on the maple board has already started to blister/crack slightly ..I also bought that in '95 but it has very little playing time on it..I was told that was a common and expected thing with a maple fingerboards..it's the only maple board I ever had..

oops not true..my Wolfgang is Birdseye Maple..and that still looks perfect!

So, is this true..??

[rjohnstone]

GOR and Doug ..I have Ebony on my USA RR, I don't play that one much either..I guess that would be reserved for my "stage" axe..because it looks cool..

What do you guys think of the pau ferro..I must say it really held up on my SD 1 Koa..I play it everyday for the last 11 years and it's still so damn beautiful..

Now, I'm a little peeved about my USA floyd rose classic Strat..I really love the guitar but the finish on the maple board has already started to blister/crack slightly ..I also bought that in '95 but it has very little playing time on it..I was told that was a common and expected thing with a maple fingerboards..it's the only maple board I ever had..

oops not true..my Wolfgang is Birdseye Maple..and that still looks perfect!

So, is this true..??

My 87 Ibanez has a maple board and other than being a bit dirty, it's held up great.
All my guitars with the exception of one, have maple boards too and I don't have issues with any of them.

[horns666]

My 87 Ibanez has a maple board and other than being a bit dirty, it's held up great.
All my guitars with the exception of one, have maple boards too and I don't have issues with any of them.

Really..my one friend loves the guitar..he always wants to buy it..I showed it to him all pissed off, and he goes.."Oh that's totally normal, it's supposed to do that"..

Of course I just said.."what!!??"..

I seen pics of old strats maple boards like SRVs and Eric Johnson's, YJM, Clapton.. their boards look pretty worn and dirty..never got a really good look at them tho..

Now I really don't want to play it..

[YetAnotherOne]

What do you guys think of the pau ferro..I must say it really held up on my SD 1 Koa..I play it everyday for the last 11 years and it's still so damn beautiful..

Same with the pau ferro board on my Hamer Vintage S - absolutely beautiful and has worn very well over the years. I like it much better than traditional rosewood.

[Chameleonfong]

In terms of looks, I prefers Brazilian Rosewood to Pau Ferro. Tone wise, Pau Ferro always seems easier to dial to my tone preference.

[HuntinDoug]

I did some research on all 3 woods before ordering. Pau Ferro is a wood similar to rosewood, only slightly harder....It has some beautiful grain in it. It's too bad that half of these boards will get cut into 4 inch segments to send out as inlaid samples.

I've never had a long term maple FB guitar. I've always been partial to ebony... Maybe that's why I like USA Jacksons so well. Maple looks dirty to me before it gets broken in. I guess if you are into that look, maple is OK. I've always preferred dark ebony. Macassar ebony has some really nice grain in it, and it can be oiled or died if needed.

I'll most likely do a couple custom "keeper" pieces of each wood...something wild. I have some bloodwood, cocobolo, & babinga to mill down for use in inlays. I'm thinkin' bloodwood flames on a maple board. I may round up some purpleheart, and yellowheart to do a rose vine, or a grapevine. I dunno...

[GodOfRhythm]

Pau Ferro's cool, but I'm not too fond of rosewood as a whole, my heart's at ebony as well and I get bored of the died/pitch black stuff, I love the chocolate streaking you can get in Macassar.

Maple.....Most maple boards I've played were finished and I didn't like that feel one bit (in fact I hated it).

[horns666]

Well, thanks for the info..just looking at that wood..

they look beautiful together.. just look at that!!

I'm very impressed of how my pau ferro fingerboard is holding up..still very nice after many years of playing..

I'm not used to sitting with my RR ..so that will prolly stay nice for quite some time..

[rjohnstone]

I've always been a fan of maple boards, but I would take an ebony board over rosewood any day.
I have one guitar with a rosewood board and it just doesn't feel right.
As for my maple board guitars, I clean them all the time with a light oil, so they always look nice and that's probably why they haven't cracked or anything either. I also wash my hands before I play them and wipe 'em down before they go back in the case.
My Ibanez maple board was trashed before I learned how to properly take care of maple. Since then, it hasn't gotten worse. I don't feel like sanding it to remove the remaining stains... gives it character.

[shreddermon]

I love pao ferro. It's like the bastard lovechild of rosewood and ebony. Looks, feel, etc., it's absolutely top notch.

[texasfury]

HuntinDog, why waste the beauty of that wood with fancy inlays? Simple dots would be my choice, it would put the focus on the fretboard. I always thought fancy inlays were like jewlery, only ugly people need to wear em.